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Speed Cameras
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the results of the schemes that are exploring alternative mechanisms of funding speed cameras. [126966]
Mr. Hill: The camera funding pilots that started in April this year in eight police force areas in England, Wales and Scotland will run for two years to assess the effectiveness of new funding arrangements. It is too soon after the start for any results to be available yet, and we expect some preliminary results after the first year.
Abandoned Vehicles
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will review the Refuse Disposal Act 1978 with regard to the seven day notice period applicable to vehicles abandoned on the public highway before they can be removed by local authorities. [126568]
Mr. Hill: The existing regulations are intended to provide owners with safeguards against a local authority prematurely assuming a vehicle is abandoned and having it towed away for scrap. They also ensure that local authorities do not have to go to the unnecessary expense of removing and storing vehicles that may not, in the event, have been abandoned.
We believe that the current legislation provides a good balance between the powers of local authorities to deal with abandoned vehicles and the rights of vehicle owners.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to maintain an official record of the number of motor vehicles abandoned every year in England and Wales. [126566]
Mr. Hill: There are no plans at present to maintain an official record of such cases.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will introduce legislation to amend the Data Protection Act 1998 to allow details of last registered owners of abandoned motor vehicles to be passed to local authorities on request. [126565]
Mr. Hill: The Data Protection Act exempts certain data from its non-disclosure provisions. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency already has powers to release vehicle keeper details to local authorities to help them deal with abandoned vehicles. The Agency provides the information on request. It is also developing electronic links with authorities to speed up the process.
Mr. Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the (a) legal and (b) financial framework for dealing with abandoned motor vehicles. [126567]
Mr. Hill: We will review the existing arrangements as we develop proposals for implementing the proposed European End-of-Life Vehicles Directive in the UK.
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Ministerial Travel
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the overseas trips on official business he has made since 1 January; and how many days he has spent overseas since 1 January. [126546]
Mr. Prescott [holding answer 19 June 2000]: Since 1 January 2000 I have made the following overseas visits on official business:
- Sunday 12 to Friday 17 March:
- Brazil and United States. Meetings with President Cardoso and other Brazilian Ministers. Trade Promotion. Meetings with Carnival and Cunard shipping companies and discussions on aviation with US Secretary of Transportation.
- Friday 7 to Tuesday 11 April:
- Japan. Attend G8 Environment Ministers Conference. Meetings with Prime Minister Mori and other Japanese Ministers and with Honorary Chairman of Toyota.
- Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 April:
- United States. Meetings with Vice President Gore and other members of US Administration. Discussions with Senators on climate change. Attend United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.
- Sunday 4 June:
- France. Represent UK Government at 60th Anniversary of Dunkirk.
- Sunday 11 to Thursday 15 June:
- Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Meeting with President Obasanjo and other Nigerian Ministers. Trade promotion. Meeting with President Kabbah and visit to UK troops in Sierra Leone.
All travel has been undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many times (a) he, (b) the Minister for the Environment, (c) the Minister for Local Government and the Regions and (d) the Minister for Housing and Planning have come to their office in the last month (i) all or part of the way by official car and (ii) by other means. [126796]
Ms Beverley Hughes [holding answer 19 June 2000]: Ministers travel by car and by public transport on a regular basis on official visits and on journeys to their offices.
Ministers are required under the Ministerial Code always to make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
Housing
Mr. Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of the number of below tolerable standard houses in England and Scotland; and on what criteria this is based. [126544]
Mr. Mullin [holding answer 19 June 2000]: The tolerable standard is a measure of minimum standard housing in Scotland and is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland. It does not apply in England. Therefore there is no comparable information.
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Environment Policy
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will issue his Policy Appraisal and the Environmental Policy Guidance, "Sustainable Development: What it is and What You Can Do", to newly-appointed Ministers and civil servants involved in policy development. [126851]
Ms Beverley Hughes: My Department's document, "Policy Appraisal and the Environment: Policy Guidance", has been made widely available to other Departments since it was published in 1998. It is also now included on the Cabinet Office's website as part of the "Policy Makers Checklist" and all Departments will be adding that checklist to their own intranet sites. A number, including mine, already have. Electronic availability of this guidance is more efficient than the distribution of large numbers of paper copies.
The guide "Sustainable Development: What it is and What You Can Do" is one of four guidance notes issued by the Green Ministers Committee. Again my Department has a stock of paper copies which other Departments can draw from while the guide is also available to them through our website or by addition to their intranets.
Green Ministers regularly consider the procedures by which sustainable development and the environment are integrated into policy-making and act as the focal point for those procedures among their ministerial colleagues in their own Departments.
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what further plans he has concerning the development of the targets and policies contained in the sustainable development frameworks produced in each English region; and if he will make a statement. [126850]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The first regional sustainable development framework was launched in the West Midlands in February and the second is due to be launched in the North-West in July; both are promising documents. We expect all the regions to have completed their frameworks by the end of 2000. Frameworks are not Government documents nor are they statutory and they will set their own targets. For frameworks to have a real impact it is vital that their production, including setting priorities and establishing systems for monitoring progress, involves all stakeholders and has support across the region. That is why we have said they should be agreed by the regional chambers. Once published we expect regional decision-makers to "buy in" to the visions set out in frameworks and to act in ways that are consistent with them.
O'Byrne Lawsuit
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he plans to take following the decision in R v. Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs, ex parte O'Byrne. [126801]
St. Helens Council
Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will set out
21 Jun 2000 : Column: 201W
the cash and percentage increase in the St Helens Metropolitan Council (a) revenue support grant, (b) HRA subsidy, (c) capital grants and (d) partnership grants for (i) 1997-98, (ii) 1998-99 and (iii) 1999-2000. [126638]
Ms Beverley Hughes: The following tables set out the cash and percentage changes in the amounts of grants made by my Department to St. Helens Metropolitan Council in each of the last three financial years.
| Grant | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue support grant(1) | -3.757 | 6.602 | 3.274 |
| Housing revenue account subsidy(2) | -1.497 | -1.062 | -0.313 |
| Capital grants(3) | -1.326 | 1.052 | 0.612 |
| Partnership grants(4) | 2.450 | -0.234 | 1.103 |
(1) Data for 1999-2000 takes into account amending report figure of £4,900, adjustment in respect of 1997-98 data.
(2) 1999-2000 Housing Revenue Subsidy is subject to change once final audited figure is received.
(3) Data do not include capital grants paid to Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) in support of rail service in Merseyside.
(4) Partnership grants comprise Single Regeneration Budget grant paid to the authority as the accountable body for the partnership projects, which include Southern Corridor, Parr Partnership, Newton 21 and Count Me In, and are grants to the partnerships and not specifically to the authority.
| Grant | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue support grant | -5.41 | 10.05 | 4.53 |
| Housing revenue account subsidy | -7.26 | -5.55 | -1.73 |
| Capital grants | -50.86 | 82.12 | 26.23 |
| Partnership grants | 96.88 | -4.70 | 23.25 |
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